Sleep is a beloved time of rest, peace and recharging; many look forward to it either at night or for a middle-of-the-day nap! Exploring what sleep is and factors that play into poor sleep hygiene may help improve sleep quality.

According to Harvard, sleep is characterized by physiological changes such as breathing, brain wave activity and body temperature. One of the most important is the variation of the heart rate and blood pressure in both REM (rapid eye movement – where most dreams occur) and non-REM sleep. In REM sleep, there is an increase in blood pressure and heart rate, which might explain why you wake up in the middle of the night with a racing heart! However, in non-REM sleep, there is a reduction in all these factors, providing the heart with a chance to rest from our demanding lives. Most of the physiological changes mentioned are reduced overall, but some, such as the release of certain hormones, can be increased, such as the growth hormone. Another increase observed are ones involved with digestion and cell repair, indicating that these may be an essential function of sleep.

This hypnogram shows the typical patterns of REM and NREM sleep throughout the night. (Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine)

Shifting sleep patterns also contribute to poor sleep health and are relative to the individual's internal clock. An irregular sleep schedule due to different class times or missing a night's sleep to study can redistribute your sleep stages, so it may take a while to readjust just after one all-nighter. Additionally, alcohol and other substances commonly taken in university affect these stages as well. Alcohol before sleep suppresses the early REM stage, and as the alcohol metabolizes into the night, your body will slowly fall into REM sleep later than usual. However, during sleep periods where alcohol was previously consumed, awakening in the middle of the night was more frequent. This leads to individuals becoming more tired the day after, often leading to naps in the middle of the day.

Daytime napping is often implemented in many schedules worldwide, with some offices and businesses closing for one to two hours each day to accommodate this. For most, napping typically follows with the hot afternoon sun or a hefty meal, which isn't a surprise as in the afternoon, there's a slight 'lag' in the body's altering system. This signal is meant to offset the body's urge to sleep, but in the afternoon, it dips a little, causing the extra drowsiness many people feel. The best time to nap is between 1 pm-3 pm, which lasts 15-25 minutes. Although this duration may not seem like enough, it's essential to not go past the 30-minute mark as that's when the body begins to enter REM and sudden disturbance within 45 minutes can make you feel worse than before.

Now, why are university students so bad at sleep hygiene? As mentioned before, different daily schedules, pulling all-nighters and long naps all lead to a shift within your internal clock, leading to an almost never-ending cycle. Some tips can be:

Eliminating electronics and allowing some downtime for at least half an hour before bed.
Not drinking any coffee or caffeinated drinks 5 hours before you plan to sleep.
Wake up and sleep at the same time each day and follow it on the weekends as well.

If pulling all-nighters and taking long naps is where you fall short, it is most likely due to poor time management & procrastination when it comes to studying. Creating a daily to-do list where you work a little daily can help break down bigger tasks into more manageable ones. This can help combat the anxiety of the task, which eventually leads to procrastination.

Overall, sleep is essential to your health, mind, and body, and many college students do not prioritize it as much as they should. Although it may seem counterintuitive, sometimes those extra hours of sleep may pay off more on your exam grade than that all-nighter!